ATLANTIC OCEAN
FalklandSound
Queen
Charlotte
Bay
AdventureSound
Bay of
Harbours
King
George
Bay
ByronSound
North Falkland
Sound
B
erkeley
SoundEaglePassageCh
oiseul Sound
FALKLAND ISLANDS
(ISLAS MALVINAS)
(U.K.)
Mount Pleasant
Royal Air Force Station
WESTFALKLANDEASTFALKLAND
Weddell
Island
PassageIslands
Mt.
Usborne
2,313 ft
705 m
Mt. Adam
2,297 ft
700 m
Mt. Maria
2,159 ft
658 m
JasonIslandsPebbleIsland
Steeple Jason
Grand Jason
Saunders Island
Volunteer
Point
Lively
Island
Bleaker
Island
Sea Lion I.
Barren
Island
Speedwell
Island
KeppelIsland
Wickham He
ights
New Island
Beaver
Island
Bird Island
Stanley
Rincon Grande
Port
San Carlos
North Arm
Goose
Green
Port Howard
Fox
Bay
Port Stephens
Roy
Cove
Hill Cove
ARGENTINA
CHILE
FALKLAND IS.
(ISLAS MALVINAS)
(U.K.)
ATLANTIC OCEAN
Tierra del
Fuego
0mi
200
0km 200
Claimed by Argentina
Claimed by United Kingdom
U.K . oil and gas exploration areas
MAP
AREA
MAP
AREA
SOUTH
AMERICA
ANTARCTICA
where wildlife is in charge 75
manages them. Researchers and tourists have been
allowed only on carefully controlled visits.
Fast-forward to today, and the resiliency of nature
is in evidence everywhere around me. The diversity
on display is as if the Pacific Northwest, the West In-
dies, and Antarctica had collided in the South Atlantic.
On five-mile-long Steeple Jason, 48 bird species have
been observed. But the extraordinary profusion of
Falklands wildlife still faces man-made risks: pollu-
tion, degraded habitat, oil slicks, baited hooks dragged
behind fishing vessels, and, notably, climate change.
The ocean may cool around the islands and warm
farther away, disrupting the food web that nourishes
seabirds and marine mammals. Increased oil explora-
tion near the islands has also raised concerns about a
devastating spill. The Falkland Islanders, though, have
a growing incentive to embrace conservation. With
more than 60,000 tourists visiting a year, ecotourism
is now the second largest source of revenue, behind
fishing and ahead of sheep farming.
As a trained biologist, I can’t help but be obsessed
with the difference between the islands left alone and
the islands touched by our heavy hand. What can we
learn from Steeple Jason’s abundance? There is hope,
and there is healing, if we choose to let nature be. Ex-
ploring the island’s sloping grasslands and looming
mountains is like walking back a thousand years in
time. The ecosystem pristine. The wildlife extrava-
gant. The animals unafraid of us.
Mischievous Johnny rooks try to steal items out of
my camera bag. Albatrosses hover overhead, suspend-
ed on the constant updrafts that blow off the Atlantic.
One taps the back of my head lightly with its feet as it
passes above me. I imagine it does so on purpose; these
are precise birds. Where else can animals feel so free
to engage in play with the likes of us? More important,
how can we help them remain so unafraid? If we keep
treating our fragile Earth simply as a place for resources
to be extracted, it will continue to suffer. I see Steeple
Jason as a testament to Earth’s resiliency but also a call
for urgency. We need more Steeple Jasons, more places
where we stop waging war on the environment and give
nature the time it needs to flourish. j
Paul Nicklen, a photographer, filmmaker, and marine biolo-
gist who was raised in the Canadian Arctic, has documented
wildlife around the world for National Geographic.
CONTRADICTING CLAIMS
Britain and Argentina warred over the islands
in 1982, and both claim them. Tensions remain
as interest in oil and gas exploitation grows.
A delicate balance
Threats to biodiversity include
overgrazing and the introduc-
tion of non-native species,
such as predators that can
alter the natural ecosystem.